Sushi style attracts a huge crowd for Tazaki

Gareth Banton, grocery sales manager, Tazaki Foods said, “Yutaka is about having fun with Japanese food, making sushi is quick and easy and something the whole family can enjoy. This year we decided to try something completely different to what we’d done before. We wanted to make our stand much more inviting than it had been previously.”

So how did we help them achieve this?

Design process

Having worked with the client on their space last year, we had a strong understanding of their brand and key messaging. After several meetings and conference calls with their team and marketing agency, we came up with a selection of exciting stand designs.  These ideas ranged from authentic Japanese style huts, to the more contemporary Japanese restaurant feel. What we settled on was somewhere in between.

“GES were able to take my somewhat vague ideas and turn them into reality. A reality that took account of the all the space, planning and health and safety rules we had to work within.”

Engagement

Tazaki wanted to encourage more visitor engagement. In addition to sushi making classes, with a food preparation counter and product display on the stand; the client also introduced a fun and interactive photo booth. This gave the ‘pupils’ the chance to capture their fine sushi-making work on film and share it with friends across social media.

“We wanted a whole new look; to get people coming onto the stand to find out more and most importantly to learn how to make sushi.”

The nuts and bolts of the build:

A raised wood-effect vinyl flooring throughout gave a clean cut, smooth finish to the stand, with re-raised flooring for the food prep area (where the chef would stand).

Walling was all traditional stand built, but with custom elements. These included the food preparation counter with built in sink unit, the retail counter ideal for product display and a sales area with sleek laminate wooden slat walls to the back.

The retail counter featured an acrylic front panel, painted white on the interior and offered plenty of light to draw attention to the products on display.

A banner wrapped centre back wall, with LED lighting made the branding stand out, whilst offering low-energy solution.

So how did the event go?

Gareth was delighted with outcome, he said, “The design was exactly how I’d envisioned it. The delivery was on time and on budget. Brilliant. The event went really well too, the stand absolutely delivered against our objectives. A lot more people came onto the stand thanks to the more open, inviting nature of the design. Feedback from customers and our peers was also very positive. One person from another stand said the new stand was a huge improvement on the old design. Our sales were 25% up on previous shows too!”

Client Testimonial:

“Right from the start of the process GES have made this easy for us. From getting our concept and ideas down in black and white, to making sure it was practical and workable. GES also made sure we were happy with everything right up to the opening of the show. I’d be happy to work with GES again and would recommend any company talk to them about their stand design and build.” - Gareth Banton, grocery sales manager, Tazaki Foods